The Fountain

Another mini film review, this time of a film that I’m going to have great difficulty in explaining. So for those who only want the condensed version of events – is it any good? Yes, but I can also understand why people will hate it. This is not really a film that you will be indifferent about.

First of all its slender running time disguises its glacial pace. If you have problems with the pace of Terrance Malick films, The Fountain is not for you as it makes them look like back to back re-runs of Looney Tunes. Likewise, if you want a clear narrative with no ambiguity, then once again I’d recommend that you look elsewhere.

If however you want something that is open to many interpretations, requires attention to watch and is more of a tone poem than a film then I cannot recommend it enough. Imagine if Kubrick had tried to film Love Story, but insisted on putting in the left over footage from 2001 and you’ll begin to approximate how odd this is at times. It never looks less than stunning (the macro photography is a wonderful touch) no matter what time period the film is currently in (indeed the different narratives are differentiated by the saturation of the colour gold) and the performances are excellent. Along with The Prestige this marks Jackman as someone who can actually act – we just have to hope that he never has to pull on those fake claws again.

So, heartily recommended but with caution – it is very much a love / hate experience.